Beauty of Belonging

  If we think of beauty as the heart rejoicing in what it senses and feels, then there can be a vast amount of beauty in our experience of authentic belonging. We relinquish an opportunity for an experience of sublime belonging when we take refuge in anonymity. The challenge is to interrupt anonymity as an…

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The Hazards of Non-Belonging

An old definition of the word belong is nearby. One implication is that we are motivated to bring our bodies, minds and hearts closer to a place, person or group when we experience belonging. Authentic belonging is accompanied by a comfort to reveal who we are. There is buoyancy to our experience of belonging when what we reveal…

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Misled Into Leadership

We have come to believe that leadership is ultimately and mostly something that happens between people. It is a way we manage people. Beginning with such an exterior focus of leadership may be misleading. It may be that what we witness as leadership is implemented as an outcome of something more hidden and more interior.…

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What Is This Thing Called the Present?

Living in the present or the here and now has been an extremely popular axiom from nearly every spiritual tradition. Said this way, the present is a noun, a measure of time that we are better off living in. However, since each moment is so easily eclipsed by the next, it leaves us with some…

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Tranquilized by Trivia

The above quote by the 19th century Danish Philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, was a reaction to his own times, likely, unaware of how prophetic the statement was. We are all aware of the popularity of a myriad of sedative substances, including alcohol, street drugs and pharmaceuticals. We may not have realized how fashionable it is to…

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Some Insight Into Integrity

Some Insight Into Integrity Describing someone as having integrity typically suggests that person exemplifies a life of decency and righteousness. The emotional component to our descriptions of someone as upright might simply be that we approve of that person’s actions. It may be helpful to deepen our understanding of integrity beyond a declaration of what…

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Mute About Money

Money competes quite well with sex for the position of the number one no-talk topic in our society. Friends, relatives and significant others typically do not speak openly about money. We can begin to understand the taboo attributed to money-talk by asking several relevant questions. What is money? What emotions does having a relationship with…

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The Beauty and Danger of Acceptance

Searching for a simple formula to offer our lives guidance often leaves us wondering aimlessly, unable to lean into true north. We live in a culture that tells us it is unnecessary to understand the complexity of our life experience. Receiving guidance from a concept like acceptance either works for us or it doesn’t, as…

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Revisiting Vulnerability

Those of us interested in meaningfully supporting our personal growth seem to be increasingly aware of the importance of vulnerability. What exactly should the role of vulnerability be in our emotional and spiritual lives? How does it become so challenging to feel vulnerable, even in the absence of any danger? How can we become more…

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To Be Known and Loved

For Aristotle, Philia was the most virtuous of the loves. Unlike Agape, which offers loving kindness simply because a person partakes in the human condition, Philia honors the uniqueness of the beloved in deep friendship. It is the love that comes to us because our uniqueness is cherished. However, we may have placed Philia in…

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